A rare type of supernova is able to explain the mystery of astrophysics 40 years ago

Most of the antimatter that fills the space of our milky Way galaxy may be the remnants of dead stars, say the results of a new study. According to scientists, their work is able to solve the riddle of astrophysics, existing for more than 40 years.

Each particle of normal matter is the antithesis – antimatter, possessing the same mass but with opposite charge. For example, the antiparticle of the negatively charged electron is the positively charged positron. When particles and antiparticles collide, it leads to their destruction (annihilation) and a powerful burst of energy. Just one gram of antimatter, when faced with one gram of normal matter, is able to trigger an explosion, where the emission energy will be two times higher than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

More than 40 years ago, scientists determined that the gamma rays generated by annihilation of positrons released in this moment in all directions of the galaxy. On the basis of this discovery was made the assumption that every second in the milky Way is annihilation of 10^43 positrons (one with 43 zeroes). The same study indicated that the presence of most of these positrons was identified in the galactic centre (Central bridge), and not in the galactic disk, despite the fact that the jumper contains less than half the total mass of the milky Way.

It made the assumption that the source of emission of these positrons is the radioactive material synthesized in the stars. However, in the next few decades, scientists have been unable to determine the type of star, able to generate this amount of antimatter. Later was made another assumption: the emission of positrons can create rare sources, such as supermassive black holes that reside in most galactic centers and the dark matter particles, annihilating each other.

"the Source of these positrons is a mystery with a more than 40-year history. But to explain the positrons you do not need the presence of any exotic elements, like dark matter" — says lead author of the new research, an astrophysicist at the Australian national University Roland Crocker.

In his view, this source may be a supernova – the catastrophic explosion of a star, able to generate huge amounts of positrons. This, according to the scientist, is confirmed by the fact where most frequently found these positrons.

Crocker focused his attention on supernova stars, the same object known as SN 1991bg. This type of objects turned out to be more common in other galaxies, but are much rarer than ordinary supernovae. Unlike normal supernovae, which could overshadow almost all other stars in the galaxies considered in the study kind of supernova produces a large amount of visible light and is considered very rare. And therefore, according to the researcher, so rarely found in the milky Way.

In previous studies, handed down an opinion that such type dim supernova may receive when the merger of two white dwarfs. The latter have a very high density and represent the core of dead stars (the size of the Earth), remaining after stars fully exhausted its thermonuclear fuel and lost their outer layers. Most stars, including our Sun, will one day become white dwarfs.

Returning to the supernova type SN 1991bg, it should be noted that, specifically, they appear when there is a collision of two white dwarfs have low mass, one of them is rich in carbon and oxygen and the other with helium. Despite its rarity among supernova, this species is able to generate huge amounts of radioactive isotope, known as titanium-44. And that it emits the positron, which was discovered by astronomers around the milky Way.

At a time when most young are born from supernovae and massive stars, objects similar to SN 1991bg, are most often found in areas where precedence is given to older stars with ages from 3 to 6 billion years. This age difference could explain why the previously discovered positron was observed mainly in the Central crosspiece of the milky Way, which contains a large number of old stars than in the outer galactic disk.

Crocker here says that the reason for the appearance of some of the positrons may be other sources.

"While this is optional, given that the objects like SN1991bg able to explain the entire phenomenology of positrons. Recent data indicate that the positron source is tightly associated with the center of the galaxy. In our model this is explained by the fact that older stars are mostly scattered in a radius of 200 parsecs (about 650 light-years) around the galactic center in the form of a supermassive black hole. However, consider the black hole as a secondary source it would be very interesting," — concludes Crocker.